Nearly 7 in 10 Hong Kong employees prefer male bosses to female counterparts

Does Hong Kong have room for 'balanced boardrooms'?

According to  Randstad Workmonitor Report, over two thirds ( or 68%) of Hong Kong employees said they would rather have a male manager than a female manager. Six out of 10 (65%) of employees said they felt their company encouraged women to pursue leadership positions.

Meanwhile, 71% of Hong Kong employees say that there are more male than female managers in their workplace while 63% feel that men are better suited to lead a company.

These are some of the findings revealed in the newest Randstad Workmonitor Report covering Q1 2013; a global survey of 14,780 employees from 32 countries. 400 Hong Kong employees participated.

Director of Randstad Hong Kong, Brien Keegan, says while there have been improvements in gender equality in leadership positions in Hong Kong, more work still needs to be done to ensure balanced boardrooms.

"87% of Hong Kong employees believe that their workplace should be diverse and have a fair and balanced leadership. In stark contrast, employees said that 57% of females have a harder time winning promotion within their company. This shows that companies must work harder in rectifying outdated employment practices that hinder progress and encourage greater female participation in leadership roles."

"By providing and adopting measures such as self-development training, coaching, and overhauling outdated policies and practices, corporations can close the equality gap and help bring Hong Kong in line with other developed countries. This will also help improve the company’s reputation which is vital for future talent acquisition."

The survey also found that 40% of Hong Kong employees believe women make less money than men in similar roles, which is lower than Singapore (43%), China and India (59%) but higher than in Malaysia (37%).